Maps of the uncertain: a new approach to communicate scientific ignorance

Abstract

While uncertainty and the unknown are not only accepted but favoured within scientific debates, these concepts are less tolerated in instances of exchange with society. In scientific communication, definitive statements are expected and thus delivered; and this societal expectation of the scientific community has obviously been internalized by the scientists themselves. After giving an overview of the lively discussion about scientific uncertainty and nescience (landscapes of the uncertain), this paper presents a new tool for the communication of scientific uncertainties: Maps of the Uncertain. These maps take the form of infographics, which allow a different kind of communication of uncertainties, and thus a different relationship between science and society. The paper presents and discusses examples of six maps.